Evolutionary Psychologist's Advice on Relationships | Dr. Geoffrey Miller EP 179

This video by Mikhaila Peterson was published on Feb 1, 2023.
Video length: 58:42.

The video is an episode of the podcast "The Jordan Peterson Show" hosted by Dr. Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist.

In this episode, Dr. Miller discusses his research on human nature and mate choice, and his thoughts on the role of intelligence, humor, and other factors in mate selection. He also talks about his work on effective altruism and artificial intelligence. The video covers a range of topics related to human relationships and sexuality, including female competition and the role of verbal creativity and social sensitivity in mate selection.

Dr. Miller also discusses his own experiences with female competition and how it has changed over time.

• Evolutionary psychologist Dr. Geoffrey Miller studies human nature and mate choice.
• Physical appearance, intelligence, and social status are all important factors in mate selection.
• People are more likely to be attracted to partners who share similar values and interests.
• Females use verbal and reputational tactics to gain advantages over their rivals.
• High school relationships have become more subtle and less direct over time.
• After Party is a product developed by Mikhaila Peterson's nootropics company, Smart Drugs.
• It is designed to help break down the toxic byproduct of alcohol, acetaldehyde.
• Effective altruism is a movement launched about 10 or 12 years ago by a couple of Oxford moral philosophers.
• It aims to promote effective charitable giving and maximize the positive impact of donations.

Evolutionary Psychologist's Advice on Relationships | Dr. Geoffrey Miller EP 179 - YouTube

Introduction

• Mikhaila Peterson is an evolutionary psychologist and lifestyle researcher.
• She is the daughter of Jordan Peterson, a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Toronto.
• Mikhaila is also a podcaster and founder of the Mikhaila Peterson Foundation.
• In this video, she interviews Dr. Geoffrey Miller, an evolutionary psychologist and professor at the University of New Mexico.

IQ and Intelligence in Relationships

• Mikhaila strongly disagrees with the idea that men don't care about IQ.
• She believes that intelligence is an important factor in mate selection.
• Mikhaila thinks that humor is also a significant factor in mate selection.
• She believes that intelligence, humor, and other traits matter in the modern world.

Evolutionary Psychology and Mate Selection

• Dr. Geoffrey Miller is an evolutionary psychologist who studies human nature and mate choice.
• He believes that humans have evolved to be attracted to certain traits in a potential partner.
• Miller thinks that physical appearance, intelligence, and social status are all important factors in mate selection.
• He also believes that people are more likely to be attracted to partners who share similar values and interests.

Evolutionary Psychologist's Advice on Relationships | Dr. Geoffrey Miller EP 179 - YouTube

Female Competition and Relationships

• Mikhaila wonders if females compete with each other for men.
• She believes that women use verbal and reputational tactics to gain advantages over their rivals.
• Mikhaila thinks that high school relationships have become more subtle and less direct over time.
• She believes that people have become smarter and more sneaky in their competitive tactics.

Introduction

• Mikhaila Peterson is speaking with Dr. Geoffrey Miller in an episode of her podcast.
• They discuss relationships and Dr. Miller's advice on the topic.

After Party

• After Party is a product developed by Mikhaila Peterson's nootropics company, Smart Drugs.
• It is designed to help break down the toxic byproduct of alcohol, acetaldehyde.
• It is not just for partying, but can also be used to avoid hangovers.
• After Party has been in high demand since the COVID-19 pandemic and government restrictions.
• It is currently out of stock and will take four months to restock.

Personality

• Mikhaila Peterson is a big fan of the Big Five personality traits system.
• It is a great thing to measure when in doubt, especially in psychology studies.
• Female versus female competition is likely to be a combination of low agreeableness, assertiveness, and a little machiavellianism and manipulativeness.
• Emotional stability or low neuroticism is also important to use these tactics effectively.
• Neurotic, anxious, depressed individuals are less likely to use these tactics.

Effective Altruism

• Effective altruism is a movement launched about 10 or 12 years ago by a couple of Oxford moral philosophers.
• It aims to promote effective charitable giving and maximize the positive impact of donations.
• It encourages individuals to research and evaluate charities before donating to ensure their effectiveness.
• It also promotes transparency and accountability in the non-profit sector.
• Effective altruism is an important concept in the field of philanthropy and social impact.

Introduction

• The video is about the concept of effective altruism (EA) and its role in reducing global poverty.
• EA is a global movement of tens of thousands of people, mostly young and highly compassionate individuals with a rational mindset.
• The video discusses the importance of finding charities that have good empirical evidence of their interventions' effectiveness.

Direct Cash Transfers

• Direct cash transfers (DCT) are a way to reduce global poverty by giving money directly to poor people who need it.
• An organization called GiveDirectly is an example of a charity that uses DCT to help reduce poverty.
• Randomized controlled trials have shown that DCT is effective in reducing poverty and improving lives.

The Psychology of Effective Altruism

• EA is an attempt to fill the gap between our evolved moral intuitions and what actually works in the modern world.
• EA is a way to think about large-scale problems like poverty and global issues that affect billions of people.
• EA is a way to think about how to do good in the world using reason and evidence rather than just virtue signaling or empathy.

Virtue Signaling

• Virtue signaling is a term that became common around 2016 with the Trump versus Clinton election.
• Virtue signaling is often used by conservatives to make fun of leftist people preaching at everybody but not actually doing much good.
• Virtue signaling can be extremely positive, such as when two single people evaluate each other's ethical compass and personality traits during a date.

Evolutionary Benefit of Psychopathy

• Psychopathy is a trait that has been discussed for decades.
• It is believed that humans evolved in small clans and tribes where social information is gathered about people interacted with regularly.
• In such a situation, there is no room for psychopaths as they are exploitative and manipulative.
• However, once civilization and agriculture developed, there was a niche for psychopaths.
• Psychopathy, sociopathy, and other related traits might be a recent development that occurred post-civilization.

Psychopathy in Small Hunter-Gatherer Societies

• It is believed that the rates of psychopathy in small hunter-gatherer societies are quite low.
• Surviving as a psychopath in a small society where everyone knows you is not possible.
• Once civilization and agriculture developed, there was a niche for psychopaths.
• Psychopathy, sociopathy, and other related traits might be a recent development that occurred post-civilization.

Psychopathy in Modern Dating

• Psychopathy, sociopathy, and other related traits might be a recent development that occurred post-civilization.
• There is a niche for psychopaths in the modern dating market.
• Social media has increased the visibility of psychopaths.
• Extroverted and disagreeable people are more likely to be psychopaths.

Personality Traits of Psychopaths

• Lack of empathy and remorse are common traits of psychopaths.
• They are comfortable lying and do not feel embarrassed when caught in a lie.
• They have an unstable lifestyle and move locations and jobs frequently.
• They have a complicated sexual history with many ex-girlfriends and do not want to talk about why breakups happened.
• They tend to be impulsive and seek sensation, drink a lot, do drugs, and drive fast frequently.

Animal Communication

• Animal communication is a form of communication used by animals to convey information about themselves.
• It is often used to attract mates or to establish dominance.
• Examples of animal communication include courtship displays, bird songs, and whale songs.
• The point of animal communication is not to convey reliable information about the world, but rather to convey information about the individual's qualities and worth.

Watch the video on YouTube:
Evolutionary Psychologist's Advice on Relationships | Dr. Geoffrey Miller EP 179 - YouTube